Dog Daze

The spir­i­tual health of a com­mu­nity is mea­sured by the num­ber of dogs you see rid­ing in the back of pick­ups. Sander­sville is pretty healthy. In this sense it is not as healthy as rural South Car­olina, but maybe some­day we can catch up. Dogs and pick­ups go together. I inher­ently trust the dri­vers of such vehi­cles. If a per­son has a heart for the hap­pi­ness of his or her four footed friends, then they prob­a­bly have a heart for the things that mat­ter most.
The sign of a real man is when you see his pickup parked in the church park­ing lot with at least one big dog “wait­ing for his master’s return.” It is sort of a Bib­li­cal par­al­lel. In Chris­tian­ity we are all ser­vants, but when we head for the truck, it feels good to be the mas­ter. There is noth­ing so heart­warm­ing as see­ing a dog’s tail sud­denly wag so hard that the dog’s rear end slides back and forth. One sight of the dog’s lov­ing care­giver, and heaven has come to earth — at least for a moment any­way.
If you are look­ing for a con­cen­tra­tion of such happy souls, then you will find them at some of the fol­low­ing loca­tions: hard­ware stores, gro­cery stores (to pick up the char­coal for the grill), pool halls, cafes that serve the strongest cof­fee and the greasi­est bacon, the post office, indus­trial plants, at schools to pickup a kiddo or two (in some parts of the coun­try they get to ride in the back with the dog), fire sta­tions, police sta­tions, and restau­rants that sport the pret­ti­est wait­resses (dog-hearted men have an eye for beauty).
A true dog mas­ter has one thing most in mind: the hap­pi­ness of his dog. The look in the eye of the well-loved dog, about to go for a pickup adven­ture, pretty much says it all — so does the daze in the eyes of both. Hap­pi­ness is a jour­ney with a com­pan­ion. Hap­pi­ness is also about sim­plic­ity. It just does not get any bet­ter than let­ting your ears blow in the breeze. Smelling all the odors along the way is enough to make drool run right down the side of the truck. Those streaks are also a sign that all is right with the world.
Hav­ing a bad day? Take one look into the eyes of a hound on four wheels — espe­cially if it is look­ing over the cab — and you will bliss and peace.